


Pearls on a String

by 46hasu



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Fluff, MerMay, MerMay 2020, Mermaids, Modern AU, or as i like to call it MerGAY, with some fantasy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:01:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24480241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/46hasu/pseuds/46hasu
Summary: Zelda had no friends at the beach her parents insisted on taking a vacation until someone very peculiar offers to teach her how to swim.
Relationships: Midna/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Pearls on a String

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for Mermay and I barely managed to get this out on time because I got distracted with my other works lol

Zelda yelped and jumped away from the waters when she felt an unfamiliar texture stroke her leg. She scrambled back to the sand, eager to get rid of the uncomfortable feeling.

In the safety of the land, she looked down to find a piece of seaweed wrapping her ankles. Heat ran to her face from embarrassment as she scanned the beach for anyone who could have seen that. This part of the beach was usually empty due to the number of rocks and corals that made it dangerous to swim too far. 

Her parents thought she was playing with other children as they relaxed in their beach house. But the kids only left her behind on the shore as they swam deeper into the sea. She left when they continued to ignore her calls to come back. 

In her seven-year-old logic, she wouldn’t have any friends on this beach unless she taught herself how to swim. So here she was in an abandoned part of the beach, determined to learn. 

But that fire of determination was dying down now as she untangled the kelp from her ankles. She was being silly to think she can just magically learn to swim by herself. If anything she would probably end up drowning. 

A shiver of fear ran up her spine at the grim thought and she stood up to return to where the tourists were. 

“Don’t you know how to swim?” a voice laughed at her. It sounded around her age. “It is much cooler in the waters than the sand.” 

Zelda raised her head to look around the sea to find bright red hair poking out from one of the rocks. She couldn’t see the rest of the kid’s body, not even eyes peeking around the rock. 

“No,” she said. “I never learned how.” 

“Well that’s just silly,” the kid’s hair wobbled up and down as they giggled. “I know babies that can swim.” 

That comment made her mad for some reason. “Well good for them. I am going back to where the rest of the people are.” 

“No, wait!” The kid must have sensed that she was upset as their head bobbed up. “I can teach you how to swim and I am the fastest swimmer in my whole class.” 

Zelda stopped midstep and considered it. Maybe she could make a friend here after all. 

“Ok,” Zelda returned and waded into the water. “Come here and show me.” 

The red hair disappeared behind the rocks with a splash. Zelda waited with her arms crossed, expecting to see a redheaded kid doggy paddling towards her. 

Instead, she saw a dark silhouette about her height with a gray-blue tail. The knowledge from the shark books hit her like a brick as she jumped away with a scream. 

Before she could land on her hind, the figure popped from the water to show orange eyes nearly covered all the way with the red hair. Their skin was unnaturally pale with a tinge of blue and dark markings that covered her chest and waist. Where the legs should be there was a dark gray tail. 

“You’re a mermaid,” Zelda whispered in awe. 

The mermaid flashed her a fanged smile. “And you’re a human. My name is Midna.” 

There was something about her confident tone and posture that made Zelda giggle. “I am Zelda.” 

“Well, then Zelda,” Midna offered her a hand. “Should we get started on our swimming lesson?”

Zelda looked at the hand and hesitated. “You won’t try to drown me would you?”

“Why would I do that?” 

She thought of the old stories she read in books. “I don’t know. I read that mermaids drown men by their singing or by dragging them off their ship.” 

Midna blinked at her. “Are you a man?”

“What? No, I am a girl.” 

“Then you have nothing to worry about.” 

Zelda looked down at the hand again. Midna did have a point. 

She accepted it and let herself be lead deeper into the waters. 

At first, she struggled to keep up with the pace Midna had set by trashing her arms and legs. But Midna had fortunately stayed near the shallow parts of the water and seemed to know when Zelda would need to resurface to breathe. Soon enough their pace started to match as Zelda learned the rhythm to kick her legs. 

They took breaks on the rocks after a few laps regularly. Midna was just as fascinated about Zelda’s life on the surface as she was about Midna’s life below the sea. 

Zelda spoke of her life in the cities hours away from the ocean. Midna would usually interrupt her story and incredulously ask how any could live without being surrounded by water. Zelda would laugh and explain bathtubs and pools to her but Midna’s disbelieving face remained. 

Midna spoke of her life deep below the ocean that was covered in darkness with little light. She spoke of the way her family hunted for food and made accessories from pearls. She showed off the string of pears that draped her arms and neck, woven in a way that won’t get tangled when she swam. 

“The sun is too bright for me,” Midna said. “But I got bored down there and wanted to see humans. I am not allowed to interact with them for whatever reason though.” 

“Would you get in trouble for teaching me how to swim then?” Zelda asked, her eyes wide and her voice lowered to a whisper. Her parents have always told her that breaking the rules was a bad and dishonest thing. 

“I won’t if they don’t find out,” Midna said with her chin raised. And Zelda was impressed at her bravery. 

They swam together until the sun started to sink to the horizon. Zelda ran back with promises to return to Midna the next day. 

She arrived at the family beach house with salt on her lips and a parched mouth. Her parents barely glanced at her when she shut the door and ran up to her room. But that didn’t matter, she had a friend now. 

They continued to meet at the same time for their swimming lessons. But eventually, that soon changed to idle conversation and games. 

Midna was still a faster swimmer than Zelda, a fact that she wasn’t shy of bragging about. Zelda would argue back that she was better at running which Midna splashed at her for. 

“Jokes on you,” Zelda laughed. “I am already wet.” 

“Ah curses,” Midna screamed at the sky dramatically before flailing into the water. 

Zelda would laugh at the display of drama before diving into the waters to join her. 

One day, Midna bought her a string of pearls. “For my best friend,” she proclaimed dramatically before giving it to Zelda. 

“I didn’t bring a gift for you though,” Zelda bit her lips in guilt. 

“Doesn’t matter,” Midna splashed at her. “I am just glad you’re my friend.” 

That night Zelda fingered each of the pearls with a frown. It was a lovely gift and she wanted to give her something equally lovely. 

She sat up when the perfect idea of a gift came to her mind. 

When the sun rose, Zelda wolfed down her breakfast and ran down to the rocky parts of the abandoned beach with her gift in her hand. It was a hairclip with a light blue flower attached to it. With Midna’s bright red hair, she thought it would give a nice contrast. 

She sat on the sand line and waited eagerly for her friend to arrive. 

The sun reached its peak in the sky and Midna still hasn’t arrived. Worry wormed into Zelda’s heart as she continued to wait. She waited for another hour when the sun started to set. And for another hour. And another. 

The adults found her crying at night with a flower hairpin in her hands. They asked her questions about why she was alone in this part of the beach during the night. She couldn’t bring herself to answer from the fear of getting Midna into trouble. 

The next day, her parents kept her inside the beach house all-day. They only let her go out with a babysitter they hired when she started to complain about how bored she was. The babysitter was a teenage girl who only seemed interested in ogling the bodyguards instead of keeping an eye on Zelda. It wasn’t hard to sneak away from her. 

She was banned from going to the abandoned part of the beach but she still snuck away every day to see if Midna visited. Every time she ran away, she would hope to see the orange eyes and sharp fangs flashing into a smile. The only thing she would see, however, was the empty waters.

But Zelda refused to give up until the final day of the family vacation with a blue flower pin still in her hand. She never saw Midna. 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and feedback are appreciated!


End file.
